Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the 16th President. In this episode from February 2022, the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft, a space underneath the famous memorial that's a result of the engineering it took to build on that spot. Plus: a farmer in Takoma Park, Maryland honored the late president by carving his name into a beech tree. Over and over.Lincoln Memorial Undercroft (Atlas Obscura)The Presidents’ Tree (Friends of Sligo Creek)Party on with our Patreon backers, and keep our show growing

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the 16th President. In this episode from October 2021, a handwritten letter from an 11 year old convinces presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln to grow a beard. Plus: in 1957, an unusual demonstration in Port Washington, Wisconsin: the “Power Mower of the Future”! Letter to Grace Bedell (Abraham Lincoln Online)The Simplicity “Air-Conditioned Lawnmower” 1957 (Wacky Explorer)Join us as a Patreon backer and we’ll send you a letter saying thanks

We’re replaying some of our favorite episodes about the 16th President. In this episode from February 2020, President Lincoln gets an offer from a fellow leader to send elephants to the United States, and he has to gently put the guy off. Plus: when elephants who haven't seen each other in a while get back together, they do some big, loud and adorable stuff. Lincoln Rejects the King of Siam’s Offer of Elephants (American Battlefield Trust)Elephant Emotions (PBS Nature)We graciously invite you to back Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon!

This month in 1964, the talk of the art world was an exciting avant garde painter named Pierre Brassau… except that this painter was actually a chimpanzee, and Pierre Brassau was a big old hoax. Plus: the young lady in the famous Sun Maid raisin logo was inspired by an actual person. The Monkey Artist Hoax (Today I Found Out)Our history (Sun Maid)Paint the future of this podcast as a backer on Patreon

Born today in 1929, Hal Blaine, a session drummer who played on not just some of the biggest hits of the 1960s, but hundreds of them. Plus: today in 1999, the first major online livestream, which brought something like 1.5 million users together to watch a Victoria’s Secret fashion show. Remembering Hal Blaine (Drum Magazine)February 5, 1999: First Major Webcast in Victoria’s Secret (This Day In Tech History via Archive.org) Keep this show marching to the beat of its own drummer as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1948, the birthday of Vincent Furnier, who rock music fans know better as Alice Cooper.  Onstage he was wild, provocative, shocking; offstage he spent a lot of time helping a certain comedy legend get some sleep. Plus: science geeks on the internet figure out a solution to a seemingly impossible postal conundrum. How Alice Cooper and Groucho Marx got to be midnight buds (Las Vegas Review-Journal)What Could You Stuff in a Post Office Mailer to Exceed the Weight Limit? (Popular Mechanics)Befriend our show as a backer on Patreon

Today in 2006, Fred the cat went undercover in Brooklyn, helping police and the district attorney’s office bust a guy who was pretending to be a veterinarian. Yes, it was an undercover cat! Plus: a discussion of celebrity news on live TV goes off the rails when a cat walks past the camera dressed as a sunflower. A Detective. A Celebrity. And That Was Just Life No. 1. (New York Times) Work from home: When you get upstaged by a cat wearing a sunflower (FOX 13 Tampa Bay via YouTube) No need to go undercover to support this show, just join us on Patreon

For Black History Month, we have the story of Rosa Graggs, a Black leader in Detroit who found a way around housing rules that tried to keep her from using her own property. Plus: Greg the Sorcerer is playing the open world survival game Valheim. Well, sort of. Detroit street that rejected Rosa Gragg will wear her name (Detroit Free Press)Valheim player keeps building Dollar Generals despite friend begging them to stop: 'I do not want to play Valheim with Greg anymore' (PC Gamer)Want more episodes like this one? Back our show on Patreon today

Today in 1969, the Beatles gave their famous "rooftop concert" in London. The police eventually shut it down, but no one got arrested... to the disappointment of at least part of the group. Plus: starting tomorrow in Florida, it’s the Gasparilla Pirate Fest. Beatles’ Famous Rooftop Concert: 15 Things You Didn’t Know (Rolling Stone)Gasparilla Pirate Fest Get back to our Patreon page where you once belonged

Today in 1861, Kansas became the 34th state in the Union. In the 1990s, a dispute over school funding led to a plan to turn part of the state into a new state of West Kansas. Plus: New York City has said goodbye to MetroCards as a payment system for bus and subway rides, but you can relive the glory days of those plastic fare cards in a new exhibit at the New York Transit Museum. Parts of Kansas once tried to secede and form 'West Kansas.' It helps explain our politics today (KAKE)NYC’s Transit Museum Pays Homage to the MetroCard (Hyperallergic)Want more shows about would-be states? Back our show on Patreon today

Today in 1971, the NFL began its annual draft. Back then, the drafts were strictly business, except for the moment when an NFL franchise appeared to draft one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Plus: today in 2021, a guy in Idaho won a big lottery prize, after having won smaller prizes five times earlier. Inside the 1971 NFL Draft, Where Atlanta Selected...John Wayne? (Sports Illustrated)Man wins sixth Idaho Lottery, this time taking home $250K (NBC News)Select our show as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1832, the birthday of Lewis Carroll, the author of “Alice In Wonderland.” One of the most memorable characters in Carroll's universe, the Mad Hatter, got his name from an actual medical condition that made those working in the hat industry seem to turn mad. Plus: today in 1937, the birthday of history-making broadcast journalist Nancy Dickerson. Poisons Part I: The Mercurial World of Felt (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)Nancy Dickerson, 70, First Woman to Be a Reporter at CBS (New York Times) Our Patreon backers are like feathers in our caps, join them today

Today in 1892, the birthday of Bessie Coleman. She would break barriers in the sky, but only after she made a name for herself in another line of work: manicures. Plus: starting today in Elko, Nevada, it’s the 41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Bessie Coleman (National Women’s History Museum)41st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Help this show keep flying as a backer on Patreon

Why have comedians been throwing pies at each other for laughs for so long? For National Pie Day, we investigate. Plus: Stacey Mei Yan Fong's project 50 Pies/50 States put the essence of each state in the Union into pie form.The messy history of the pie fight, from vaudeville to Nickelodeon (Hopes & Fears via Archive.org) 50 Pies/50 StatesFor the cost of a piece of pie a month you can support our show on Patreon

Today in 1943, the community of Spearfish, South Dakota had some serious ups and downs in the weather, setting an all-time record for the fastest temperature change ever documented. Plus: today in 1997, Lottie Williams of Tulsa, Oklahoma went out for a walk and got hit with what was likely a piece of a Delta rocket falling to Earth. History of Spearfish's World Record Temperature Change (South Dakota Public Broadcasting)Jan. 22, 1997: Heads Up, Lottie! It's Space Junk! (WIRED)Stick with our show through ups and downs as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1910, the birthday of Károly Takács, a multi-time Olympic champion who won his medals without the use of his dominant hand. Plus: today in 1936, inventor Carl Brown obtained a patent for an unusual device meant to wake up drowsy drivers. Karoly Takacs, the Para athlete who achieved Olympic glory (World Shooting Para Sport)Staying awake at the wheel (Weird Universe)Help our show stay on target, donate today on Patreon

Today in 1970, a strange moment in boxing history: two of the greatest heavyweights of all time faced off in a computer-simulated fight for a movie. Plus: today in 1946, the birthday of David Lynch, filmmaker, musician and occasional weather forecaster. How Muhammad Ali regretted his strangest fight ever (The Sporting News via Archive.org)  Watch 950 Weather Reports Presented by David Lynch, Straight from His Los Angeles Home (Open Culture)Keep this show in fighting shape, back it on Patreon today

For the holiday today, we're replaying an episode from January 2020 about the civil rights leader and his connection to Star Trek. A big reason why Dr. King was such a fan was the character of Lieutenant Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols.Star Trek’s Uhura Reflects On MLK Encounter (NPR’s Tell Me More)

Today in 1749 two British nobles decided to play a trick on London’s theatergoers. And their trick, known today as the Great Bottle Hoax, proved their point, while also managing to mostly backfire. Plus: police in Heber City, Utah are turning into frogs on the job! At least according to AI. The Great Bottle Conjurer Hoax (The Paris Review)Ribbit ribbit! Artificial Intelligence programs used by Heber City police claim officer turned into a frog (Fox 13 Now)Our Patreon backers make this show possible, and that’s no hoax

Today in 2009, the "Miracle on the Hudson," in which an airplane in distress made an emergency landing on a river and everyone on board survived. While winning national acclaim for his piloting, the captain had to do some explaining at his local library. Plus: a car guy from Long Island gets a special ride for his dad and finds a bit of hip hop history. Library lets late fees fly for Hudson pilot (NBC News)Long Island Man Buys Rolls-Royce Corniche for His Dad. It Turned Out To Be Tupac’s (The Drive)Fly along with us as a backer on Patreon